Facebook v. Instagram
As more and more users join Instagram, they are leaving the chaotic
ad-filled pages of Facebook behind. While the number of Facebook users may or
may not be declining – a quick check of the Company’s 10Q can verify which is
true – the annoyance factor and diminishing returns of the site are definitely increasing.
Scanning through the homepage of
Facebook, you are bombarded with ads down the right side of the page and scattered
throughout the newsfeed. It is a frenzied
mess. Turning to Instagram – as the site
and user experience stands now, it is great and the people at Instagram are doing
it right. The site is clean and ad-free
and users can easily follow the stories of their friends and families.
But while I no longer see any value in Facebook and my usage
has gone down tremendously, I still have not deactivated my account, simply due
to the time consumption it requires. Using myself as a proxy for Facebook’s
average user, I would imagine most feel the same disenchantment from our first
social media platform as I do but have yet to act upon it. But despite this initial lack of effort to unshackle
ourselves from the social media giant thereby removing all of our buying and
consumption preferences from their hands, at some point the advertising dollars
will stop flowing in. The question is how long will it take for the advertisers
and companies to realize that users are no longer really “using” and all that “valuable”
data that Facebook is acquiring is stale and worthless.
2 comments:
I'm not an Instagram user, so I'll restrict my comments to Facebook, where I am very active.
Although you may not find any utility in Facebook, I do not think you represent the average user.
One of the key benefits of FB in my opinion is the ability to easily stay connected to friends and family on a daily basis.
It's a great vehicle for me to maintain close contact with my children for instance.
My daughter posts pics and video of my new grandson daily, and even though we are are two hours away, I can still see him grow up before my eyes when I can't be there in person.
Granted I don't like free ads, but I accept them, since they are giving me this great free FB service.
I'd guess that the average user does like staying connected to family and friends, and hence that is why they have over 1 billion users and growing worldwide.
One thing is universal - our desire to be connected to one another.
Lucky for Facebook... It owns Instagram
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